A college degree is arguably the best investment a young person can make in his or her economic future.  A university education is associated with higher lifetime earnings, and lower risk of unemployment.

Our country has no shortage of big problems. While big challenges are nothing new for Americans, how we deal with them has changed.

Fifty years ago, rising social unrest forced Congress to deal with big things — like voting rights, immigration, and access to health care and education. Over a seven-month period in 1965, Congress passed five significant laws that dealt with these pressing issues of the day. These laws forever changed life in America.

Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which many consider the most important civil rights legislation of the 1960s. The law gave the federal government oversight responsibility over elections in all or part of 15 states (including parts of New York, Michigan, and California) where there had been systemic exclusion of voters based on race, ethnicity, or economic status. Under the Voting Rights Act, states had to pre-clear any changes to voter eligibility rules or election conduct prior to implementing these changes.

One of my earliest childhood memories is of our mailman, Mr. Harmon, taking a break from his daily deliveries and joining my Mom and me to watch some of the early space launches. I didn’t know it at the time, but the influence of government filled my family’s living room – from the presence of our caring letter carrier to the visionary work of NASA scientists exploring the world far beyond Earth.